Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade

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I thought it would be nice if you could take a few wires.

Sure.

That's our contact that we call in.

But even if you didn't have all the great decisions and all that, you'd be tired, just straight out tired from the work.

When you have the pressure and the...

But he cried that night.

He was so proud.

You know, the first thing, Pat said she, you know, she said, you know, I guess that's our friend, my friend.

They cried because it was, well, risking the election and all that.

Well, no, Pappas cried because he was so proud of you.

And you, it was so, his words were courageous and eloquent.

And he said, I just, I just, I was so proud of him, I just cried.

And he said that he's called, he's been calling us on his friends in France and England and all around.

He said they were, they said you were great.

Good old time.

Thank you very much.

Strong leader, forthright.

He's going over to Greece and somewhere.

I recall that he and Mac Fisher and then Garnet heard your speech.

Were they in California?

No, they're in, yeah, Garnet's in California now.

I invited Garnet tonight.

Yeah, I noticed that.

and thought you came over cool and concerned.

You presented your position very well.

You showed a remarkable job of restraint and control.

All three are very proud of your presentation and, of course, back in the army.

Why did you cancel the speech?

It was great.

You were calm and cool.

You inspired the whole Western world.

You caused a pretty major network.

They are.

And you tried to get those nauseating jackals off the air.

You know, the business of being cool and so forth is something that we don't get the credit for because the press tries to create this damn impression that I'm in a position to brag and I'm hot and I'm cool.

Well, sure, I don't have to remember it.

On the other hand, when everybody knows me, I'm the coldest man in the world.

Well, no one could really watch that.

I don't care what any of them translated.

People thought it would be... You watched it, of course.

Oh, yes.

I watched it and I had it on again this morning.

Oh, they run it again, aren't they?

Yeah, they had it on again.

Well, I turned it off, and I had it on until what?

I'm sure I know that Don Hughes was flying last night, because he was somewhere flying back, so I know they were playing dance at the end.

He came in to do that.

My brother called and said that by the time he got to work, all the radio stations were having these phone-in plans.

And it was like...

The pole is set on the right, 150 to 34.

Four.

Four years' position.

The Russians.

I think the people want for us to go to Russia, but I don't want us to go there in disgrace.

And you gave Russia last time.

You gave them a chance.

You handed them on a platter, a chance, to live up to what they say.

We know they're not peacemakers.

They failed, and you gave them the perfect opportunity.

They had the chance to be the big peacemakers of all.

Have you come on and come to the summit?

You've worded it all so beautifully.

They had to, you know, if they don't do it, it's made clear.

Now the Red Chinese are not saying we bombed them over the weekend, bombed two of their ships over the weekend.

We did, and they wouldn't wait till today to know it.

What about the, I mean, there was just a report that the Chinese said they bombed two of their ships over the weekend.

Did they bomb?

What about it?

Thank you.

I don't know.

That would be a big help having more people rather than having to do it all yourself.

I don't know, because you would get the likes of that line in the draft that went out from that.

You see, it's the old story, you can't go home, you can't follow those guys.

Right.

30 what?

35

She is so dear.

At that point that she mentioned, she talked about last night, and I said, well, that was, she went and I was coming back, and she said, who had thought that last night?

And I said, well, it was, and I said, I was talking to North Vietnamese and South Vietnamese and Russian and African people, and they all

But the Russian part I wrote entirely myself.

That was the most important part.

Have any of those dots back there?

They've got a chance here.

I think they will.

They do.

That's one of the risks we've taken.

The damn Russians.

They were responsible for the war in India.

have tested us in Cuba by sending other ships out there.

And they're building up their forces.

And now they're trying to embarrass us here.

I'll be goddamned.

We're just not going to do it.

The American people, by 70%, want us to go to Russia.

Too bad.

Right now, the main thing now is to defeat the North Vietnamese.

And we're not doing it.

Across the line,

Well, it has to be done.

This is just ridiculous to have it go on and on and on.

The Russians are playing.

They have all this in mind.

On one side, they say they want peace.

They don't want peace at all.

They're just playing for time until it blows up.

In my experience.

It's on a margin, but if you get something out of it, let me see.

In regards to public support, I would like to run a poll.

I don't know.

Yeah, I have to.

And the other thing I have to hand them in your way is there is some, they didn't give up that plant, you know, that landed over there.

I don't know if you knew this, but they said the guerrillas, Arab guerrillas, I think it was, but anyway, guerrillas, took that thousand plants, 101 people, and they were holding it for, they wanted a hundred, I think a hundred of their people to leave.

They negotiated with them that they wouldn't go all the way, and they would take them and take them and keep them on the rest.

The first story was they sent them on the rest as technicians.

They killed two of the guerrillas and injured one of the women, one girl, as it captured one, the back home.

And at that point, none of the passengers would make it to the show.

They had that whole 101-passenger car, and they went on.

They didn't give up that point.

Oh, that's a way to end it.

Because those people were threatening to blow it up.

I tell you, there's... You've got to have, we've got to have people like you around the world who stand up and keep count of this.

It's not really worth being in a country that can't be strong.

We couldn't have had, we couldn't have paid people who would have made the average American feel like us

than the people they interviewed who were against your stand.

They interviewed some for and some against on NBC.

At George Washington, where they all gathered, some of them gathered to listen.

And truthfully, the first one they asked who was against was such an out-and-out queer in every way he spoke, and his emotions, his face,

The guys who were for us were bright.

Two girls, one girl just said, well, there's only one thing to say, she's bright.

And she said, you know, very nice looking girl.

And yes, the ones who were for us were good.

They gave you some more phantom, had a mustache.

They didn't have the long hair down here, but intelligent.

Their answers were good.

I was pleased, because I figured they were going to, when I saw the ring line, they'll have everybody a guess.

They didn't.

I would say that each was four on a guess.

He said something, and it may be on his head.

Oh, yes.

I think we ought to ask somebody to cite the difference between Teddy Kennedy and what you did when Jackson came to Cuba when you were running for office.

That should be another sentence.

I've mentioned it to you.

Have you?

I've mentioned it to all of you.

I'd like to say that I feel very strongly that one of his brothers had to do it.

The people.

My brother-in-law, he worked at a company in the field.

Absolutely right.

You know, and these people, he never said anything.

I think he was very quiet for, he doesn't say a thing unless he's the lady of the firm.

It's absolutely great that someone should have done it long before he got into office.

Before they had so many men.

He understood exactly that.

He had to get men home.

And he resigned to him.

He's a real John Q. Puppet.

He's not an intelligent guy.

He's not a political guy.

Okay.

When you work up, when you build up to being able to, what I think is the most amazing is how you go through all the problems where you have to go and then are able to do them so calmly.

Even as often as I went, I noticed.

We guess if not that little credit, I don't know how we can get out of it.

But our guys tried, and they don't do that.

That was a dam.

Jack Kennedy would have been likened to the second coming.

Christ, John the Baptist, St. Paul, and Peter.

All right, good luck.

Thank you.

I've got a few who are always sticking to the, you know, Richard Wilson and the kind of real good writers.

Oh, yeah.

David Wilson, the writer.

Oh, did you?

I, uh, I think you were giving me a quarter of three.

I'll be up probably in the distance.

I don't know if you want me to do that or not.

— 1 min 27 s with no transcribed speech —

You know, he's so pleasant.

And we used to have that kind of stuff.

We don't have it now.

Nobody goes around.

A couple of military agents.

But some say good morning or hello.

And he is so nice to all of us.

Everyone loves him all the time.

Especially, I've watched him.

If you see someone who looks a little bit down, he's actually going to say, do you have a date with me tonight?

You know how he does when I wake up.

I can't hear you because I haven't been talking for a long time.

It's up.

Well, I think the Russians will move Thursday.

One way or the other.

By 8.20, they'll move by, I think.

I think it's going to be Thursday at 10.

Well, the backers have done this, and now they've had to stand up to their allies and say, God, if they're going to call us, we're going to call them.

We're not going to be fooling around anymore.

The way it's going to be, all rats are off.

Well, let me say, I'm not too concerned about that kind of pressure.

It may be the wrong time.

It may be the wrong thing to do right now to sit down and host some divisions with barbarians in the Kremlin and agree to variation.

I mean, the country wants to at least get hold of teachers, right?

Everybody for the damn summit has ever had peace.

They don't realize that these people are out and brutal assassins.

Yeah.

But that's the theory of the day.

We're going to do what it's due to be done.

You know, really, I don't know anybody else who could, you know, ask me to do it.

But can you imagine anybody that, under the present character, can do the same thing?

First done the work, first done the speech.

And second, not get it until 5.30 and the day I deliver it will be at, what, 5.15, before we have the technical interchange and the technical lab, you know, and we have the services.

Any type of change that we can do that.

In fact, by the way, it came in at 1.15 minutes before the agreement, and it's just gone.

We changed it.

But, and then go on and do this, and this is a lot harder than people realize.

It is that.

Because I think, I think I have a tremendous honor.

I, you know, the different people, that Jack Collins call was fantastic.

He said he's never made a call on any speech, any political thing.

This is Georgia now, isn't it?

Yeah, it is.

North Carolina, it's one of those longer things.

Southern Times or something like that.

I'm not sure.

And, uh,

He just put it over and over and over.

He said it was absolutely great.

I am absolutely so proud.

The people who really think don't want, they don't want this country.

Dishonored.

Be dishonored.

And be through.

Be through.

Through.

Well, look at England.

Look at France.

They're finished.

They're done.

So we're going to finish.

We're finished.

The diamonds take over all the way.

They don't realize that these people are thugs and brutal assassins.

Yeah.

But they're there.

It's not going to go 5.30 on the day I deliver it to you.

It's 5.15 before we have the technical change.

And you have to change it to do that.

In fact, by the time you came in, it was 1.15 minutes before the agreement.

And then go on and do this.

And this is a lot harder than people realize.

It is that.

Because I think, I don't have a tremendous memory.

I, you know, the difference is that Jack Collin's poem was fantastic.

He said he's never made a poem, any speech, any collusion thing.

He's a character now, isn't he?

Yeah, he is a, wait a minute, North Carolina, something, that one of those all the things, Southern Times or something like that.

He just put it over and over and over.

He said it was absolutely great.

I am absolutely so proud.

The people who really think don't want, they don't want this country to be dishonored.

And be through.

Be through.

But look at England.

Look at France.

They're finished.

They're never finished.

So we're going to be finished.

We're finished.

The comics take over the whole way.

That's what they're trying to do now.

I think we've got an interesting thing.

Rocky and Reagan, these two people so different.

A lot of people are all out on Rocky's server.

take off the whole day and call people all over the country.

Just the president's finest hour and all that.

Anyway, it's not bad.

You know, great to be able to have those too.

But I must say, I think that Rock Falls, from the day you got the nomination, I don't see Fox before, and I've never been very fond of it.

After you got the nomination in 1968, I think Rothschild's been the best stubbornest as far as being...

Absolutely.

...absolutely for you.

He's with us on everything.

With Reagan, you know.

Well, Reagan is an egomaniac.

An egomaniac, and he gets on that welfare and the rest of it.

He knows it'll be a damn thing.

Now, Rocky is the best friend we've got on the show.

He's strong, vigorous.

How's Ann?

I must call her.

I promised I would call her.

Did we ever have her at White House?

No, we invited her to an evening one time.

Why didn't you invite her to the Mexican dinner?

That stuff is kind of a thing.

I don't give a dang.

And it's only half-brown people.

Yeah, we'll have to answer that.

Half-brown people, they can live in the backseat, you know, they like the informal thing.

But it'd be nice to have Anne.

She's a great dad.

Tom's been enjoying it.

Still working for Rocky.

That's it.

Well, he's married, old, they don't have any.

Oh, no.

I think we ought to have asked once.

I do too.

We have to do it for an evening.

And if this is the time, you know, then I can tell if she can stay at my place or something, you know.

Because I've been going to have her for the weekend.

She came one night.

She left the apartment because she came down with the governor and there was some dinner or something.

So I had her come by and gave her a fast bite to eat.

I see.

Rocky's coming to dinner, isn't he?

Well, he's probably in college.

He's probably in college.

Yeah, you said to invite them and to invite rivals.

And I want you to come, too.

Oh, well, I don't think you can come.

You can chair somebody else.

No, the hell with the chair.

You come because Ann's coming, you see.

Well, who is this from?

Our party, this is one.

It's the last statement we're going to have before the election.

I think it's that, I've done that with, you know, I have told everybody to turn their names in early, because that's the trick to stop the inspection from being, these lists have to be approved and followed up.

And it doesn't come off as dumb as it seems.

We use every, you know, so we can get as many in as possible, so that's been our overall plan.

We have a nice evening at the workout.

We did a lot of those in the fall.

Yeah, but you work out in the evening.

I mean, you know, of course not.

Summer?

Absolutely.

and check to see what we could have for each.

Should we have a sonata?

You'd better not.

I'd like to have one.

I've been pushing for it for a long time.

But not with a godfather out and everybody, you know.

He won't perform in alignment because he said he can't sing at all.

He retired.

Wearing?

Wearing, if we can get him.

We tried him for the June 15th dinner.

But he would be good for an evening at the White House.

He's still wearing.

We can have him check out his schedule.

And then check it out with you.

Or the other thing is to have the movie evening at the White House.

We can talk to him about it.

Well, you know how they are, don't they?

Well, maybe it's a good idea, but most of those people like to be deep stars, you know?

Yeah, that's pretty hard.

Yeah, all stars are part of that panel.

Well, how do you get them ready?

Yeah, what kind of style?

The tattoo.

Okay.

Is it quarter-draped, long-haired?

Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade

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Also recorded on May 9, 1972

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Nixon, Woods & Kissinger on Vietnam War and Blockade

AI Summary

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NARA Description

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Transcript (AI-generated)

Also recorded on May 9, 1972

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